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The UK’s defense secretary is Jewish, a first since the 1990s
(JTA) — Analysts have been scrutinizing the record of Grant Shapps since he was appointed the United Kingdom’s new defense secretary on Thursday.
A fact that may not appear on his resume: he has said that he was once president of a branch of the BBYO Jewish youth movement.
Shapps, a veteran Conservative member of parliament, previously held other Cabinet-level roles under a series of prime ministers — including a total of six days as home secretary under Liz Truss, the shortest stint anyone has had in that position. He replaces Ben Wallace, who announced last month that he would resign after a failed bid to become NATO’s secretary general.
Shapps is the government’s first Jewish defense secretary since Malcolm Rifkind, who served in the post from 1992-1995.
Shapps, who was born to Jewish parents in the southern English county of Hertfordshire, moved on from leading BBYO to studying business at a Manchester university. His brother Andre, meanwhile, played in the band Big Audio Dynamite in the 1990s. The group was founded by their cousin, Jewish rocker Mick Jones — a founding member of the pioneering punk group The Clash.
Shapps, now 54, went on to form multiple printing and web publishing companies, including one that was accused of using fake customer testimonials. After several unsuccessful bids to enter parliament in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he broke through in 2005, winning the seat in Hertfordshire’s Welwyn Hatfield district.
He explained his Jewish identity, religious observance and thoughts on Israel in an interview with the London-based Jewish Chronicle in 2010.
“I don’t eat pork, we only buy kosher meat and we don’t mix meat and milk. I like being Jewish and I married a Jewish girl. It’s like a way of life and it’s good to be able to instil some of that sense of being in your kids,” he said. “All of that makes me seem as though I am quite observant but actually the flipside of this is I don’t know if there is a God or not. But one thing I am absolutely certain of is that God wouldn’t care if you were Jewish or Christian or Muslim.”
He said that while he believes that Israel has a right to exist, he also thinks the country “could have more forward thinking policies,” adding, “I think it is absolutely inevitable that Palestinians will, and have to, have their own state.”
Shapps reassured observers on Thursday that he would continue to take a hard line on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, something his predecessor became known for. A little more than a year ago, Shapps and his wife Belinda took in a Ukrainian family fleeing the war, “inspired by the fact that our families were chased out by pogroms three generations ago in eastern Europe,” he told the U.K. Jewish News.
He traces his interest in politics and his understanding of how it works back to his leadership of BBYO, which has chapters for Jewish teens in several countries.
“It was the first time I was involved in chairing committees, understanding that process, how hidden agendas work, all sorts of leadership training through that period that most people wouldn’t get until they were in work,” he told the Jewish News.
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The post The UK’s defense secretary is Jewish, a first since the 1990s appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Official: ‘Israel Accepted the Qatari Offer, Hamas Rejected It, Talks Ongoing’
Hamas terrorists carry grenade launchers at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
i24 News – Hamas rejected the Qatari offer for a hostage and ceasefire deal, accepted by Israel, an Israeli official told local media on Saturday.
Nevertheless the talks in Doha are ongoing, the negotiation team is working with the mediators Egypt and Qatar and is in continuous contact with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, the source said.
Rejection of the Qatari offer is consistent with the jihadist group’s modus operandi of raising difficulties, refusing to compromise and and waging a war of ideas aimed at sabotaging the negotiations, misrepresenting the talks to the Gazan population and pressuring the Israeli public, the source said.
The Israeli delegation was sent to Doha on the basis of the Qatari offer, to which Israel agreed and received the mandate required for the talks.
Israel has shown a willingness to be flexible in the negotiations, while Hamas is steadfast in its refusal, while taking positions that do not allow the mediators to advance an agreement, according to the Israeli source.
If Hamas had accepted the Qatari offer, an agreement could have been reached and negotiations could have been entered into for 60 days on ending the war in accordance with Israel’s war goals.
The post Israeli Official: ‘Israel Accepted the Qatari Offer, Hamas Rejected It, Talks Ongoing’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Striking Some 35 Hamas Targets, IDF Says It Ramps Up Activity in Beit Hanoun Area
Troops from the IDF’s 98th Division operating in Jabalia, the northern Gaza Strip, May 2024. Photo: Israel Defense Forces.
i24 News – The IDF is conducting strikes against targets of the Hamas terror group in the area of Beit Hanoun on the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said.
A short while ago, dozens of IAF fighter jets struck over 35 Hamas terror targets in the area.
Among the targets struck was underground Hamas terrorist infrastructure in the area.
Earlier this week the military said that the Givati Brigade’s combat team has joined the 99th Division and launched an operation to encircle Beit Hanoun.
“The forces are operating to eliminate terrorists and to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and Hamas’ military capabilities in the area,” the IDF statement read.
According to the IDF, a significant number of Hamas terrorists remain above and below ground in Beit Hanoun, conducting guerrilla activities and artillery strikes against IDF personnel.
The post Striking Some 35 Hamas Targets, IDF Says It Ramps Up Activity in Beit Hanoun Area first appeared on Algemeiner.com.